Similarities Between A Raisin In The Sun And The Great Gatsby

Aspirations drive one to do unimaginable things. They are the fuel to one’s life, the hope they can place their future in. This can bring out the very best in people or they can crumble under the pressure of achieving it. Aspirations can completely transform one’s life. As we have seen this semester in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, aspirations are numberless with vary degrees of difficulty to achieve. How one handles and decides to pursue their aspiration, no matter how big or small, can unveil a great deal about their character.

Having strong aspirations develops determination and strength. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s true colors are revealed to Nick when

he describes,“He came alive to me, delivered suddenly from the womb of his purposeless splendor” (78). Nick viewed Gatsby as a purposeless man, no different from the common rich man who carelessly spends his money on parties and a house full of extraneous articles. However, Gatsby’s most prominent attribute, his determination to achieve his aspirations, is unveiled to Nick when he realizes Gatsby does everything in the best interest for Daisy. Gatsby is aware that Daisy is married and a mother, but his aspiration of achieving a life with her drives him to not give up on his dream, even if it takes years. Similarly, Proctor from The Crucible posses the same drive and determination as Gatsby. When Proctor is asked to sign the confession papers he howls, “I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” (417). Proctor’s unwillingness to sign his name to the confession papers is due to the fact that Proctor fixates on his reputation and aspires to be an honest man. His reputation will be destroyed if he signs the confession papers. In defense of his name, he rips the confession papers up, which enables him to rally up enough courage to die a heroic death and preserve his reputation.

On the contrary, Aspirations can get the better of oneself. Nick Carraway from The Great Gatsby recollects a story he heard about Jordan in the news, “At her first golf tournament there was a suggestion that she had moved her ball from a bad lie in the first semi-final round” (57).
Athletes possess an inner drive to succeed and be the best athlete there is.

When this aspiration does not seem to be met, individuals can make decisions that they are not always proud of, such as cheating. Jordan was new to the professional realm of golf. She had to work her way up from the bottom, but this would not be an easy task. Her desire to be the best golfer on the course caused her to cheat in order to achieve this, something she may not be proud of. Cheating is only one degree of an aspiration getting the better of oneself, it can gets much worse. In The Crucible, Betty roars to Abigail, “You drank a charm to kill John Proctor’s wife! (317). Abigail, in all her mischievous ways, desired to be with John Proctor so much to the point where she attempted to kill his wife, Elizabeth. The affair she had with Proctor was not enough to satisfy her and she wanted a lifetime with him. However, Elizabeth stood in the way. Her goal to be with Proctor consumed her mind and clouded her judgment. It inhibited her from being able to discern right from wrong to the point where she was willing to kill someone to achieve her

goal.

With Aspirations being such a vast part of one’s life, Aspirations can lead one askew from their intended plans.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character, Jay Gatsby, draws his past with Daisy for Nick. He explains, “Well, there I was, way off my ambitions, getting deeper in love every minute, and all of a sudden I didn’t care” (150). Life is full of unexpected turns, relationships being one of them. Once Daisy entered Gatsby’s life he knew he wanted to pursue a life with her, and he made it his goal to do so. He dropped any plans he had made previously and focused his life on the green light, Daisy. This led him to buy an extravagant house in a town opposite of his small hometown and throw lavish parties that he could of only dreamed of when he was living in North Dakota. Comparably, Beneatha's aspiration for love in The Raisin in the Sun turned Beneatha's intended future upside down. While the Younger family was moving out of their old house and into the new, Beneatha mentions,“Mama Asagi asked me to marry him today and go to Africa” (533). Beneatha’s goals in life were to be in a healthy romantic relationship, to pursue a medical degree, and to pay respect to her heritage in Africa as much as possible. It was no surprise that when Asagi suggested they get married and go back to Asagi’s home village in Africa, where she could volunteer at the medical clinics, Beneatha greatly considered it because it offered her all three. While these were her goals, her future was on a different

path. She was living with and taking care of her mother, as well as working her way through medical school. Now a big wrench was thrown into that path, a new door had opened, a road that she could have only dreamed of before.

Aspirations are the building blocks to one’s life which is why aspirations drive one to do unimaginable things. The good, the bad, and the unexpected all come attached to aspirations. These three literary pieces are just a small snapshot of the real world and its enormous collection of dreams. Big or small, aspirations reveal an immense amount of one’s character. So evaluate your dreams and when you decide to pursue them, beware of the unimaginable steps you will take to achieve them.